The interconnectivity of multimedia devices and the networks on which they operate along with the proliferation of digital rights management (DRM) systems make it likely that content protected by one DRM system will be distributed to, or used in, an environment where content is protected by some other DRM system. Interoperability among DRM systems will ensure that content protected in one DRM system may be translated into and protected by another system. While most DRM systems are neither standardized nor interoperable, several interoperability proposals have emerged. The Marlin Initiative is an industry sponsored specification that defines a common DRM architecture for the application, enforcement and exchange of rights in digital content among Marlin compatible client devices including portable media players, set-top boxes and mobile wireless communication devices. The Coral Consortium is an initiative backed by content owners, providers and hardware and software developers to develop a specification wherein client devices resolve interoperability issues among disparate DRM systems utilizing web-based and local services. Other interoperability proposals utilize a Domain Interoperability Manager (DIM) to manage the transfer of content and attending rights among different DRM systems.
Interoperability among different DRM systems is vulnerable to the distribution of pirated content that is subsequently protected under another DRM system. Such piracy is often the result of a vulnerability of the DRM system from which the content originated. Unprotected content may also be DRM protected after pirating. The application of DRM protection to pirated content is sometimes referred to as “white washing”. Consumers often assume that DRM protected content is legitimate and are usually unaware that white washed content was pirated. Existing DRM interoperability proposals and systems operate under an assumption that the underlying source and destination DRM systems are uncompromised.
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